Brackish Water Fisheries

Chilka lake
 Coordinates19°43′N
 Lake type part freshwater part saltwater
 Primary sources Mahanadi River
 Primary outflows Bay of Bengal
 Basin countries India
 Max length 29 km
 Surface area 906-1165 km²
 Max depth 132 m
 Surface elevation 0-2 m above MSL
 Settlements Satpara, Puri, Orissa, India
 Largest coastal lake in India.
 Chilika lake is actually an estuarine lagoon shallow throughout its
spread.
 The lake is connected to the sea by a 29 km long irregular channel
with several small sandy and generally ephemeral islands.
Chilka Lake (also Chilika Lake) is a brackish water coastal lake in
India's Orissa state, south of the mouth of the Mahanadi River.
 The lake was formed due to the silting action of the Mahanadi River,
which drains into the northern end of the lake, and the northerly
currents in the Bay of Bengal, which have formed a sandbar along
the eastern shore leading to the formation of a shallow lagoon.
 The area of the lake varies from 1165 km² in the monsoon season
to 906 km² in the dry season, and is studded with numerous small
islands. The larger islands lie between the sandbar and the lake,
separated by shallow channels, and include Parikud, Phulbari,
Berahpura, Nuapara, Nalbana, and Tampara.
 Chilka Lake is designated a wetland of international importance
under the Ramsar Convention.
 The main body of the lake receives, on its northern sides several
branches off mahanadi system of which river Daya is most
important. The southern end of the lake is marked by two long and
narrow bays separated by rocky hills.
Physicochemical characteristics of
Chilka lake
 It is a pear shaped.
 Average depth varies from 0.93 t0 2.63 m
in summer and from 1.73 to 3.7 m during
monsoon.
 pH- 8.4 to 8.5
 Salinity- 0.1 to 29.2 ppt.
 Dissolved oxygen- 3.4 to 5.8 mg/l.
 Fish-Fauna of Chilka Lake
Wetland supports 27 species of freshwater
fishes and two genera of prawns.
The lake abounds in 21 species of herrings and
sardines of the family Cupeidae alone.
The most common fish in the lake is Callichrous
bimaculatus and Wallago attu.
The fish is so called because most of them are
provided with whisker like barbels arranged
round the mouth.
 Importance
The lake suports a major fishery for fin fish, prawns and
other crustaceans, with an estimated 6000 mt of fish
taken annually.
The site is an important area for breeding, wintering and
staging for 33 species of waterbirds.
It also supports 26 species of benthic algae, 97 species
of phytoplankton, 170 species of zooplankton, 117
species of benthic fauna, 77 species of macrophytal
invertebrate, 270 species of fishes, including
commercially important species, 30 species of prawns,
150 species of migratory and resident birds, 30 species
of reptiles, 7 species of amphibians, 18 species of
mammals. Significant numbers of people are dependent
upon the lake's resources.
 2. Pulicate Lake

 Pulicate lake at a Glance

Area -   468 Sq.Kms.
Status -  2nd biggest brackish water lake
 Fishery of Pulicate Lake
 Shrimps are represented mostly by the white shrimp, Penaeus indicus, which
accounted for about 30% of the total landings 1980-81 (U.K. Srivastava, 1985). Other
species are P.monodon, P.semisulcatus, M.monoceros and M.dobsoni.
 The white shrimp seems to be more tolerant to fluctuations in salinity than the other
Penaeidae species in the lake (Krishna.pers. comm., 1992). It is fast growing and
because of its tolerance, very suitable for culture purposes. Hyper saline conditions
(over 40 ppt), low content is dissolved oxygen (bellow 2ppm) and wide fluctuations of
temperature strongly affect the growth and the mortality rate (P. Krishna etal. 1985)
V.Rao (1972) observed that salinity below 5.6 ppt caused inactivity among post-
larvae and at 0.9 ppt they died.
 The tiger shrimp (P. monodon) is the largest of the marine shrimps growing to a
maximum length of 320 mm.
 After the monsoon the fry of all species of mullets enter the lagoon in enormous
numbers, but the survival rate of the fry is very low. The juveniles use the lagoon as
nursery, feeding ground and growth. They migrate back to sea for breeding purposes
after attaining a certain size and stage of maturity
 Green Crab (Scylla serrata) fishing continues throughout we year but reaches its
peak during November – January. This crab is preferred to other species of crabs
because of its meat quality, its large size and its ability to stay alive out of water for a
few days.
 The annual landings of M. casta was highest in 1980 (309.7 tonnes) and decreased
in 1981 (168.2 tonnes) and 1982 (85.9 tonnes).
 3.Vembanad- Kol Wetland 
 Vembanad backwaters, the largest of Kerala backwaters.
 The northern part is called as “Varapuzha lake” and its southern region
“Vembanad lake”.
 Location: The site is located (09°50'N, 76°45'E) in the Alappuzha,
Ernakulam of Thrissur districts, Kerala state, on the southwestern coast of
India.
 Area: 151,250 ha.
 Altitude: 1m- 2m
 The Vembanad-Kol is the second largest brackishwater, humid tropical
ecosystem in the Southwest coast of India. It has a length of 60 km north to
south from Cochin to Alleppey. The construction of the Thanneermukkom
barrier in the year 1976 has resulted this lake into two entirely different
ecosystems, retaining estuarine conditions in the northern sector or the
downstream region (Cochin to Thanneermukkom = Cochin backwaters) and
transforming the southern sector or the upstream region (Thanneermukkom
to Alleppey) into a freshwater habitat. Periyar and Muvattupuzha are the
major rivers which open to this lake.
 The lake open in to the Arabian Sea through two permanent openings, one
at Cochin and the other at Azikode. One of the important features of this
state is that majority of the 41 rivers in the state drain into the estuaries
before they empty into the sea through perennial of temporary opening.
 Physicochemical characters of
Vembanad lake
 Water temperature- 25.1- 33°C.
 Salinity-0.19-21.7ppt
 Dissolved oxygen-1.10-5.9 mg/l
 Annual rainfall-2,825 mm.
 Precipitation rate-
66.4% (During southwest monsoon).
16.5 and 17.1% in post-monsoon and pre-monsoon
period respectively.
 Changing salinity conditions during the different seasons
in the stretch of these backwaters make the ecosystem
to have polyhaline condition (18-32ppt) in the
downstream point and mesohaline (5-18ppt) during pre-
and post monsoon and the salinity could go well
below 2ppt during monsoon.
 Fishery of Vembanad lake
 the Vembanad lake is the major estuarine system which harbours a
rich resource of clams forming the livelihood of 5,000 fisher families.
It is renowned for its live clam resources and Sub- Fossil deposits.
 The black clam (Villorita cyprinoids) is the main resource contributes
to about 67% of the clam fishery, followed by Meretrix casta, Paphia
malabarica and Sunetta scripta. Annually about 31,650 tonnes of
clams are fished from this lake of which 31,430 tonnes is
contributed by the black clam. Its meat is locally consumed and is
also used as an animal protein feed supplement in various feeds,
while the shell is largely used in lime-based industries.
 Vembanad lake and other backwaters of Kerala with an area of
50,000 ha. produce 14,000-17,000mt of fish.
 The giant fresh water prawn offers a lucrative fishery resource with
a total production of 300-400 tonnes/year.